August 31 - September 6, 2024

 

 

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

On what Western is Luigi Montefiori thought to be an uncredited writer?

Angel Rivera knew that it was CIAKMULL L'UOMO DELLA VENDETTA, aka THE UNHOLY FOUR.

What deal did Gordon Mitchell make with Demofilo Fidani regarding the use of the Cave Studios?

There have been two answers submitted, which are not the answers I was looking for, so I am doing more research before making a ruling.

What was "Super Spaghetti"?

No one has answered this one yet.

What was the excuse the Italian government used to close the Cave Studios?

There have been two answers submitted, which are not the answers I was looking for, so I am doing more research before making a ruling.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which Italian director, who used Enzo Barboni as a cinematographer, felt that Barboni killed the Italian Western with the Trinity films?

By what name is Simonetta Vitelli better known?

By what name is Luciano Pigozzi better known?

Name the movies from which these images came.

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Gordon Mitchell in GIU LA TESTA... HOMBRE, aka ADIOS COMPANEROS, aka A FISTFUL OF DEATH.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Angel Rivera, George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of Gordon Scott in MACISTE ALLA CORTE DEL GRAN KHAN, aka SAMSON AND THE SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE WORLD.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab from L'ULTIMO TRENO DELLA NOTTE, aka NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's photo of Gordon Liu in EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

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I am interested in knowing what movies you have watched and what you enjoyed or not. So please send me an email at scinema@earthlink.net if you'd like to share. Here's what I watched last week:

Enjoyed: 

The Real West "Mountain Meadows Massacre" season two episode one (1993)

The Real West "Steamboats West: Glory Days on the Big Muddy" season three episode nine (1994)

Sex Before the Internet "Porn Awards" season one episode 4 (2023)

Mildly enjoyed:

DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE (2024) - After the financial "disappointment" of THE MARVELS, Marvel Studios seems intent on reminding audiences of the older films that were successful. Using a story element of the Loki series on Disney +, the filmmakers worked out a way for former 20th Century Fox character Deadpool to bring former 20th Century Fox character Wolverine into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The only Fox/Marvel films I enjoyed were the DEADPOOL movies, so the reverence this film has towards the X-MEN and LOGAN movies leaves me cold. And while there a jokes aplenty in this movie, there are also way too many bloody fight scenes between two characters that can't kill each other. 

LES VACANCES DE MONSIEUR HULOT, aka MR. HULOT'S HOLIDAY (1953) - Having read about this film for years, I'm glad to have finally watched it, but I didn't find it very amusing. There are three versions of this film - the original in 1953 which was withdrawn in 1959. After some changes, a new version came out in 1962, but was withdrawn in 1967 due to filmmaker Jacques Tati's bankruptcy. After some more tweeks, Tati released the "definitive" version in 1978, which is the version I saw. While many critics compare the film to something by Buster Keaton, especially because of Tati's deadpan expression, his obliviousness to the chaos around him reminds me of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean, which many feel was inspired, in part, by Tati. However, Bean is often deliberately mean, and Tati is always trying to fit in.

Dark Side of the '90s "Black Sitcoms' Last Laugh" season two episode 7 (2022)

Dark Side of the '90s "Morning Show Wars" season two episode 10 (2022)

Dark Side of the '90s "Infomercials: Shams and Scams" season three episode 6 (2024)

Dark Side of the '90s "Spice Girls" season three episode 7 (2024)

Sex Before the Internet "1-900-SEX" season one episode 1 (2023)

Did not enjoy:

CHIEDI PERDONO A DIO... NON A ME, aka MAY GOD FORGIVE YOU... I WON'T, aka GOD MAY FORGIVE YOU... BUT I WON'T (1968) - Cjamango McDonald, played by George Ardisson, is riding away from Ranch McDonald to go to town, saying goodbye to his younger brother, promising to get his younger sister a present because tomorrow is her birthday, and promising to get his father some tobacco. In town, where he is withdrawing the money from the bank needed to pay off the mortgage held on his ranch by the owner of Stuart Ranch, played by Luigi Pavese, Ardisson runs into Virginia Stuart, played by Cristina Iosani. Iosani wants to know why Ardisson is avoiding her, and he reminds her that their parents would never approve of them as a couple, since his father defended himself and put her father in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, a gang of men shoot Ardisson's brother, sister and father to death back at Ranch McDonald. On a nearby hillside, Pedro Sanchez (aka Ignazio Spalla) witnesses the massacre through a spy glass. (How he came to be on that hillside to witness the massacre is never really explained. I suppose he was spying on the gang.) Ardisson arrives home to grieve over his family, and then goes to Ranch Stuart to pay off the mortgage and get the deed to his ranch. He swears to get revenge on everyone responsible for the murder of his family. Seeing Ardisson galloping about, Sanchez meets up with him to say that he can show him where to find the guilty parties. Ardisson never gets around to asking Sanchez why he is helping him, but we soon realize that Sanchez is collecting the men Ardisson kills to turn in for the rewards on their heads. After Ardisson kills Jack Smart, played by Peter Martell, Dick Smart, played by Anthony Ghidra (aka Dragomir Bojanic) leads his huge gang to Ranch Stuart to complain to Pavese that the death of his brother is worth more than the money Pavese paid him to kill the Stuart family. They get into an argument and Ghidra kills both Pavese and his son. It isn't until half way through the film, that it occurs to Ardisson that Pavese may have been behind the massacre. After he gallops to Ranch Stuart, he finds Pavese already dead and Iosani saying that she only just learned of her father's evil plan to get control of Ranch McDonald. It isn't long before Ghidra and his gang capture and beat up Ardisson, but Sanchez shows up and convinces them not to kill our hero because Ardisson has hidden the reward money already collected for the dead members. Of course Ardisson escapes captivity, but how can he fight such an huge gang? Luckily, an old friend of his father still has a "machine gun" left over from the Civil War. Writer/director Glenn Vincent Davis, aka Vincenzo Musolino, fails to give this simple revenge story any compelling drive nor any distinctive moments. The most compelling element is the question of "how come the music track uses "Dawn Raid On Fort Knox" from John Barry's score for GOLDFINGER over and over again?" Did they get permission from John Barry to do this, or did they figure he'd never find out. Did the editing team put that music on the film as a temporary track and then expected credited composer Felice Di Stefano to come up with something similar, but he couldn't?

ECOLOGIA DEL DELITTO, aka ECOLOGY OF A CRIME, aka A BAY OF BLOOD, aka CARNAGE, aka TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, aka many other titles (1971) - There has been a lot written about this film, with some hailing it as the beginning of the "body count" slasher genre. From my perspective, this is not something to celebrate. In this film a number of unlikable characters are dispatched in a variety of grisly ways, but the film ends with a knee slapper that lets the viewer know that it was all in fun. Actually, the character played by Brigitte Skay is likable, and the fact that she goes skinny dipping doesn't influence my perspective at all. Plot coherence doesn't seem to be a concern for director Mario Bava, who puts in some very nice transitions from scene to scene. He also includes too many panoramic shots of the bay, which many see as a thematic statement on horrible people versus the beauty of nature. It feels more, to me, as a way to pad a slight film to feature length. In addition there are many hand-held P.O.V shots, which sometimes results in a "killer camera", but sometimes doesn't. Was the frequent use of zoom shots a result of a low budget, or was it a deliberate stylism? Towards the end of the film, there are a number of unnecessary flash backs to explain the plot, which concerns two competing groups wanting to turn an old woman's property by a bay into a commercial enterprise. Some how it seems to me this could have been accomplished without so much mayhem. Writer Dardano Sacchetti began his cinematic career with this film and director Dario Argento's IL GATTO A NOVE CODE, aka CAT O'NINE TAILS. He would soon rack up nearly 100 credits working with directors Lucio Fulci, Lamberto Bava, Sergio Martino and Antonio Margheriti among others.

LO CHIAMAVANO VERITA, aka THEY CALLED HIM VERITAS (1972) - "They call me Veritas, right?" says the character played visually by Mark Damon, who did not do the English language dub. "And why do they called me Veritas? Because I always tell the truth, right?" Producer Oreste Coltellacci is credited as the writer on this incredibly dull so-called "comedy", but the film plays like a Super 8mm amateur project for which the makers figured out what to shoot as they went along. Coltellacci had previously produced PROFESSIONISTI PER UN MASSACRO, aka RED BLOOD YELLOW GOLD, back in 1967, of which this film plays almost like an improvised remake - and reuses a lot of the action footage. Instead of three Confederate deserters, here there are four layabouts who when they hear a battle outside their room, try to figure out which uniform to put on with which to blend. As with the previous film, our "heroes" end up hoping to get their hands on some stolen Confederate gold. However, this time, the "heroes" are not operating with any kind of drive. They meander from one situation to another until they accidentally stumble into where the gold is hidden. Damon is often seen reading a book on How To Get Rich Quick In The West which ends up figuring into the film's finale, but it isn't funny. Actually nothing in the movie is funny or fun. It is sleep inducing. Some fellow on the IMDb wants to make the case that this film is a "post-modernist" exercise and says that he's watched it six times. As a Texan with whom I used to work says, "Whatever turns his crank." The four are played by Mark Damon, Pietro Ceccarelli, Pasquale Nigro and Franco Garofalo. Maria D'Incoronato brings a pretty face to the proceedings, while Gigi Bonos, Enzo Fiermonte, William Bogart and Rick Boyd fill up the supporting cast. 

L'ORO DEI BRAVADOS, aka CHAPAQUA'S GOLD (1970) - THE BRAVADOS was a 1958 Western and it seems odd that over ten years later the Italian distributors decided to reference it for this silly flick. Don Reynolds is the credited director of CHAPAQUA'S GOLD, and most sources say that is a pseudonym for director Giancarlo Romitelli, who made two spy movies:  Z7 OPERATION REMBRANDT and SI MUORE SOLO UNA VOLTA. Reportedly, in an interview, star Giorgio Ardisson said that CHAPAQUA'S GOLD was actually directed by screenwriter Renato Savino, who is the credited writer of SI MUORO SOLO UNA VOLTA, and JOKO INVOCA DIO... E MUORI, aka VENGEANCE, for which director Antonio Margheriti took sole screenwriter credit. If true, then we can say that his direction is about as botched as his screenplay. This is one of those movies that after it ends one can question why any number of scenes occured and then decide that much just doesn't make sense. Chapagua is played by musician Boby Lapointe, who reportedly only took the part for the money. Giorgio Artisson plays Doc. The two of them come into possession of $100,000 in gold bars before the U.S. Civil War begins. It is not surprising that they carry Colt .45s, which weren't issued until seven years after the war, but that is a common error in many Western movies. They decide to hide the gold until the war is over. How do two rogues hide gold and ensure that one of them doesn't steal it from the other? They take turns blindfolding each other so that each one knows only half of the trip to the stash. The war is over and Ardisson, wearing an U.S. cavalry uniform, is looking for Lapointe. Everyone he asks seems afraid to comment because his former partner now seems to lead a dangerous gang. In town, Ardisson quickly provokes the ire of former Conferates led by Rik Battaglia, who, at one point, capture him and seem intent to beat him to death while an old soldier cranks a music box. Ardisson also runs into U.S. Major Piero Lulli, who is leading a group of soldiers in hunting down Lapointe. Lulli introduces Ardisson to the glamorous Linda Veras who seems intent on buying up the whole town and making it into something more grand. Why Lapointe seems intent on playing cat-and-mouse with Ardisson instead of just teaming up to get the gold is never explained. Lapointe and Ardisson end up together after it appears that Veras used ether on both of them to learn the entire secret of how to find the gold. Toward that goal, Veras has employed Lulli, but, or course, there is a double cross. While Linda Veras looks quite fetching in her under garments tied to a bed, none of the characters engage audience sympathy nor believability. There is a rather long sequence of Lapointe's gang having to migrate due to the risk of Lulli's soldiers, that seems patterned after scenes of Mexican revolutionaries on the move. Bringing along women and supplies, this gang looks nothing like the usual Mexican bandit gangs in other Italian Westerns, but, aside from getting the final film to something like feature length, this sequence comes to nothing. The most interesting thing about this movie is the music score by Luis Bacalov. He would reuse much of it in the next film directed by Don Reynolds: LO CHIAMAVNO KING, aka HIS NAME WAS KING. He also reuses the "Mexican bandit gang" theme he previously used in DJANGO and QUIEN SABE?, aka A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL. Was the running gag about Lapointe's character having an awful Mexican accent part of the original film, or was it just a gag that the English language dubbing team inserted on to the movie?

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David Deal Enjoyed:

SECRET AGENT SUPER DRAGON (66) - Please refer to The Eurospy Guide

THE SICILIAN CLAN (69) - Adieu, Alain Delon.

OUTLAW: KILL! (69) - The final installment in the Outlaw series finds Goro the Assassin still trying to stay out of trouble but to no avail. He finds himself - yet again - caught between warring yakuza clans, trying to bring peace. The result is more heartache and bloodshed. This series comes highly recommended as do most of the Nikkatsu noir films from the 1960s.

DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES (62)

THE VALLEY OF DEATH (68)

OSS 117 IS UNLEASHED (63)

YOU CAN CALL ME BILL (23) - This "documentary" proves that William Shatner is not uninteresting. Nor is he as interesting as he thinks he is.

BLACK SUNDAY (60)

THE SAINT STRIKES BACK (39)

ZONE OF INTEREST (23) - This movie lives up to its title. Recommended.

THE HYENA OF LONDON (63)

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Angel Rivera  Highly enjoyed:

"BLAKE EDWARDS: A LOVE STORY IN 24 FRAMES" (2024)
Interesting documentary about the director/creator of the Pink Panther movies and such films as: "Experiment in Terror" (1962); "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961);  and "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962); among others. And also as the husband of Julie Andrews.

Mildly enjoyed:

"AFTER BAYWATCH: MOMENT IN THE SUN" (2024)
This a docuseries on the series "Baywatch" (1989-2001). Now I never saw a single episode of the series, but I was aware of the women running in slow-motion in a one piece bathing suit that was very revealing without being obvious. It followed the differing cast over a 11 year period. It originally ran on NBC, before it was canceled after its first season. Then it found new life in first run syndication and it goes on to become the most watched television program in the world.   Originally it starred David Hasselhoff  and Parker Stevenson. But when it went into syndication, Hasselhoff was the only one who was paid reasonably as he was the star and now a producer for the series. Parker Stevenson left after the first season as they could not meet his price. In first-run syndication, the producers were seeking someone who could draw audiences. (Every one on the show had to be good-looking and in great shape.) Enter Pamela Anderson, who was an athlete in her entire scholastic career, becomes a Playmate and gets noticed and hired for the show and becomes an international star. The show had other "stars" of good looking well built men and women like Carmen Electra: Yasmin Bleeth and Erika Eleniak to nane a few. But as the story goes the producers of the series became rich; the actors not so much.  Semi-interesting look at the show that apparently was at one time the most watched show in the world.

TCM SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: LEO GORCEY--08/29/2024
TCM was paying tribute to a particular star each day and on the 29th of' August, they paid to tribute to Leo Gorcey, best known as a member of the Dead End Kids, and leader of the East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys. 18 of his films were featured. I loved watching the Bowery Boys movies as a kid, so I thought I would give them a gander. So here are the films I caught.

"DEAD END KIDS ON DRESS PARADE" (1939)
Gorcey plays a malcontent who gets sent to a military school, where he almost causes the death of Billy Halop who plays a senior cadet trying to straighten out Gorcey and gets accidentally thrown out a window for his troubles. Feeling responsible and guilty, he straightens himself out after Halop asks the Commander to give Gorcey another chance. Pretty maudlin for a Dead End Kids movie.

"GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE" (1943)
An East Side kid comedy where Gorcey and his gang while renovating a house that is supposed to be haunted meet Bela Lugosi, who, here is a Nazi spy and foil the plans of Lugosi and his henchmen. In a before she became a star role is Ava Gardner, who plays the sister of Huntz Hall and marries one of the gang.

"BLUES BUSTERS" (1950)
A Bowery Boys comedy where Huntz Hall who gains a fantastic singing voice after his tonsils are removed. Gorcey then sees dollar signs where they can exploit Hall's talent. Also featured in this film is Phyllis Coates, before she became Lois Lane in the first season of "The Adventures of  Superman", as a tap dancing chanteuse; and Craig Stevens before he starred in the TV series, "Peter Gunn" and Adele Jergens. All the films are juvenile in their story and humor, but fun watching in a nostalgic bent.

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:

I pompieri (1985, Neri Parenti)

Chi to hone / Blood and bones (2004, Yoichi Sai)

Isekai shikkaku / No longer allowed in another world (anime) - season 1 (2023) - episodes 1 to 4

Mildly enjoyed:

Nautilus – season 1 (2023 - 10 epis)

Did not enjoy:

Space battleship Yamato (2010, Takashi Yamazati)

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Charles Gilbert watched:

The Wild, Wild West S2E05 "The Night of the Returning Dead". Sammy Davis Jr. and fellow rat pack member Peter Lawford guest star in this episode about delayed justice for a Civil War crime. Most interesting with the inclusion of Hazel Court in the cast.

TAKE A HARD RIDE (1975) Lee Van Cleef gets top billing, but less screen time than the two former NFL running backs making inroads into the western genre. There's also karateka Jim Kelly whose martial arts prowess seems out of place along with his portrayal of a native American.

PHANTOM FROM SPACE (1953) B&W. Michael Mark and James Seay the only familar faces in this sci fi drama about an alien causing communication interference.

Love Canal Documentary on PBS. Updated storyline on the community near Niagara Falls, New York that made national headlines.  Residents began suffering serious illnesses and death from toxic waste that had been buried beneath their housing development by a local chemical plant.

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